Key takeaways for sellers
- Disclosure is the highest-risk part of your sale. Get it wrong and the buyer can walk away, or claim compensation after settlement.
- It's more than the title. Beyond title, planning and rates, you may have to disclose “material facts” (serious defects, contamination, flooding) and can't conceal them — and unapproved building work needs flagging.
- The regime differs sharply by state. VIC (s32) and NSW (prescribed docs) have long had statutory disclosure; QLD now does too (mandatory Form 2 disclosure) — don't assume “buyer beware”.
Why does disclosure matter?
Every state requires a seller to disclose set information before a buyer signs. The specifics differ, but the reason is the same everywhere: a buyer is committing hundreds of thousands of dollars to something they've walked through twice.
What legally has to be disclosed?
- Title and ownership — certificate of title; mortgages, easements, covenants, caveats.
- Planning and zoning — zoning and any overlays/restrictions.
- Rates and outgoings — council rates, water, owners corporation/body corporate fees.
- Notices and orders — government notices/orders/proposals affecting the property.
- Building and services — in some states, building approvals, owner-builder works, service connections.
This is the general shape of it. The actual list is set by your state's legislation, and it's not the same in any two of them.
Worth separating two different things. What must legally be disclosed is mostly about the title — easements, covenants, encumbrances, statutory charges, notices on the land. The physical condition of the building is a different question, and outside the material facts below, a buyer is largely expected to inspect and satisfy themselves. That's why a disclosure statement isn't a building report and shouldn't be read as one.
What can't you stay quiet about?
Separate from the paperwork, there's what you know. Victoria makes it an offence to knowingly conceal a material fact to get someone to buy — Consumer Affairs Victoria's examples include a known structural defect, building work done without a permit, contamination, and serious crimes or hazardous events at the property, like a homicide or a former meth lab. Other states get to a similar place through Australian Consumer Law, which prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct — and staying silent can qualify.
The rule of thumb: if you'd want to know it as a buyer, tell your conveyancer about it. Deciding it doesn't matter is the expensive way to find out it did.
Some hazards sit on public registers — contaminated land registers in each state, and the loose-fill asbestos register in NSW covering the “Mr Fluffy” properties. If your property is on one, that's not something to leave for the buyer to find.
An unresolved dispute travels with the property. A boundary or dividing fence matter at NCAT or QCAT, or a tribunal order about a tree, is the kind of thing a buyer would want to know and you'd struggle to argue wasn't material.
What do you disclose when selling with tenants?
If the property is tenanted, the lease comes with it. The buyer needs the lease terms, the rent, the bond, and the end date — a fixed-term lease with eight months to run limits what a buyer planning to move in can do. Rent arrears or an informal arrangement that isn't in the lease need to be on the table too.
How do the rules differ by state?
| Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document | Section 32 statement | Prescribed documents attached to contract | Form 2 seller disclosure statement |
| When | Before the buyer signs | Before you can advertise | Before the buyer signs |
| Legislation | Sale of Land Act 1962 | Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation | Property Law Act 2023 |
| If you get it wrong | Buyer may rescind | Buyer may rescind | Buyer may terminate up to settlement |
Victoria — you give the buyer a Section 32 statement before they sign. It's the seller's disclosure document under the Sale of Land Act, covering title, rates, planning and any notices on the property.
New South Wales — you can't advertise the property until the prescribed documents are attached to the contract. That's the title search, drainage diagram, planning certificate and a few others. A missing document can give the buyer grounds to rescind.
Queensland — since 1 August 2025, a mandatory seller disclosure scheme under the Property Law Act 2023. You give the buyer a Form 2 seller disclosure statement plus prescribed certificates before they sign. If you don't, or it's materially inaccurate, the buyer may be able to terminate the contract right up to settlement.
What happens if you get disclosure wrong?
Three levels, roughly in order of how bad they get.
The buyer walks. Before settlement, a disclosure failure can give the buyer the right to terminate — you're back on the market, usually at the worst possible moment.
The buyer sues. After settlement, it becomes a compensation claim. The sale is done, but you're not.
You're penalised. Knowingly concealing a material fact carries a fine or, in Victoria, up to 12 months imprisonment.
Which applies depends on your state and what was left out.
How does disclosure get prepared?
Your conveyancer assembles the statement, orders the required certificates and searches, and attaches them to the contract in the correct form for your state. Zettle handles this as part of preparing your contract, on a fixed fee.